


Infinitesimal Infinite

by ticknart



Series: Alliterative Association [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-20 22:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11344473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticknart/pseuds/ticknart
Summary: Happy 16th birthday Dipper Pines!





	Infinitesimal Infinite

Dipper Pines sat in the window seat of the attic looking out over the Mystery Shack's parking lot. The lot was full of people dancing and talking under the twinkle lights Mabel, his twin sister, had insisted on putting up for their shared birthday party. He didn't know most of the people down there and he doubted that his sister really knew most of them either. He assumed that she had simply given everyone in Gravity Falls an invitation.

He watched the party goers. Mabel danced to the beat of the music between two of the local boys. He didn't know who they were and wondered if his sister knew them. Grenda danced with the oldest of Wendy's brothers. Candy stood near the snack table, nursing her drink. Soos spun the music, bopped to the groove, and occasionally leaned down to whisper to or kiss Melody, who stood behind the turn tables with him. So many people had come and looked like they were enjoying themselves. Tambry and Robbie. Nate and Lee. Pacifica. McGucket. Lazy Susan! It seemed that everyone in town had shown up. After all, sixteen was a big one. Right?

He supposed that sixteen was a big, important birthday. After all, his parents had driven up from California to celebrate it with him and his sister. They had even promised a (sensible) car for the twins once both had passed their driving test. People kept coming up to him asking how it felt to be sixteen. Some of the women even commented on how he looked more like a man. Even Mabel had been excited for the last week about turning sixteen. It was the only thing Dipper had heard her and Grenda and Candy talk about all summer long.

He took off the ushanka had Wendy had given him after his thirteenth birthday and fingered the soft sheepskin. Part of him felt bad for hiding in the attic, but this party was Mabel, not Dipper. If he'd had his way, it would have been just a few close friends and family. Quiet and fun. Besides, he'd put in his appearance. He'd opened his gifts. He'd eaten cake. He'd thanked nearly everyone who came and pretended he was happy to see all of them. Okay, it wasn't all pretend, but so many people and so much noise simply exhausted him. He had to get away from it. Fortunately, the food and the music and the dancing let him leave without being noticed.

Across the room, the clock said 9:38. Dipper sighed. The party showed no signs of ending soon. If he didn't get back to the party or completely leave, someone was going to come looking for him. He thought about it for half-a-second. Leaving was the better choice. He'd get the quiet he craved and could use the birthday gift he'd bought for himself.

He climbed out of the window seat and put his hat back on. He crossed the room to his bed and grabbed his backpack, phone, and charging cord then headed downstairs. In Soos's office he rooted around for Grunkle Stan's old Maglite. He clicked the button a few times and nothing happened. In the kitchen, he popped the flashlight open and dumped the batteries into the recycle. He found new batteries and a thick rubber band in the junk drawer. He also stuffed some jerky and granola bars into his backpack in case he got hungry and wrote a short note letting his family know where he'd gone and when he expected to get back. Next he went to the gift shop where he and Mabel had opened their birthday presents. One of his presents had been in a gift bag lined with thick, colored cellophane.

Diffused light came through the curtains and he found the bag he was looking for easily. He dumped out the contents of the bag, an electric razor in a box, and set it aside. He rubbed his hand over his chin. Yup, still smooth. Still childlike. He figured that whoever got him the razor meant well, but it made him feel bad. It was hard enough for someone his age to try to be happy with who he was at the moment than to have some sort of "normal" shoved in his face. He sighed. Too much thought. Too much concern. It was okay to simply be who he was, he kept reminding himself.

He reached into the bag and pulled out the cellophane. He'd promised it to Mabel, but she probably wouldn't be too upset if he took the green to use. Besides, she'd get all the colors, even if the green was wrinkled. He folded the transparent green sheet into quarters, then put it over the end of the flashlight. He used the rubber band from the kitchen to hold the cellophane down. He aimed the light at the floor and clicked it on. A green spot appeared. It was bright enough to see what was in front of him, but not bright enough to ruin his night vision.

The light bobbed around the room until it landed on the gift he had bought for himself. He'd saved almost every penny he'd earned over the last three summers helping Soos and Melody run the Mystery Shack. Most of it was being saved for college, but a bit, just a bit of it had been spent on a brand new six inch telescope. Something strong enough to see the rings and moons of Saturn. Anything stronger would have dipped too deeply into his savings. The telescope also had a few extra bells and whistles. It had a small motor that could be used to track the movement of whatever he choose to look at. Even better, he could simply plug his phone into it and the telescope would automatically shift to his longitude and latitude and aim at the object he'd entered into the app. The telescope's battery had been charging all day and was ready to go for stargazing.

Dipper clicked off the flashlight and walked across the room. He checked to make sure that the telescope was secured to the tripod before closing the legs and hoisting everything up onto his shoulder. He tiptoed back across the gift shop before catching himself and feeling stupid. It was the dark and the beat of the music coming from outside that made him feel like he should be sneaky. No one out there cared, though. No one knew what he was doing. Only he did. He walked the rest of the way across the room and to the back door with all the confidence he could muster, which still didn't amount to much.

The screen on the backdoor squeaked as he pushed it open. He stepped out under the porch light and into the night air. He took a deep breath. The music from the other side of the Shack was still thumping in a way that made his heartbeat feel out of sync. As he took his first step toward the forest, he wondered how far he would have to go to escape that beat.

"Hey, not-so-little man, where you going?"

Dipper stopped and turned around. There was a figure in the shadows.

"Hey, Wendy," he said.

Wendy Corduroy stepped into the light. Dipper's heart fluttered and his breath caught in his throat like they always did when he saw her. She wore a plain white tank top and black jeans with her green plaid flannel tied at her waist and heavy work boots. Her long, red hair was held in place by a blue pine tree cap. It surprised him that she still wore the cap he had given her four years earlier. Sure, he still wore the hat she had given him, but he had been a kid full of puppy love and the hat helped him remember the friendship she had given to a stupid little kid. Those memories were cherished and had helped him through some rough patches. He wondered if his old cap had helped her, too.

By the end of his first summer in Gravity Falls, he had given up on the idea of him and Wendy ever being more than friends. And being friends with someone like Wendy was amazing, but it hadn't really changed his feelings for her. All it really did was make him more comfortable around her. Allow him to talk to her without stuttering or feeling sick to his stomach. Still, those dreams of kissing her and running his hands through her silky hair were always there just as strongly as they'd ever been.

"Didn't see you out there with everyone else," she said, her hands behind her back.

He hadn't seen her, either. Not when he and Mabel opened their presents. Not when he mingled with the crowd. Not when he sat in the window watching everyone have fun. He assumed that she hadn't come. Although it bothered him, he wasn't surprised he didn't see her. She didn't seem to be around at all this summer.

He took the telescope off his shoulder, set the folded feet of the tripod on the ground, and said, "I was out there for a while, but it's not for me."

She smiled and said, "Of course it's for you. It's your birthday. Happy birthday, dude."

"Thanks," he said.

"Come on," she said, "put that stuff down and let's go live a little."

His stomach lurched. He almost said okay. It was on the tip of his tongue because Wendy had asked him to go with her. He really didn't want to go out there again. Sure, Wendy would spend some time with him, maybe even convince him to dance for a song or two. Eventually, though, she'd move off and talk to other people and even if he followed her around for the rest of the night. He'd end up just as alone with her as he was by himself. Better to be alone looking at the stars.

"Thanks," he said, "but that, out there, it's Mabel's, not mine."

Wendy frowned, but before she could say anything he put his telescope back over his shoulder and said, "This is mine. And that" -- He looked up at the sky. -- "is waiting for me."

He started to turn around when she said, "Wait a second. Let me go grab something."

He heard the screen door squeak open and slam shut. He couldn't figure out what she was doing. All he did know is that he was a fool. A fool for waiting for something that... for someone who would come all because his heart fluttered and he blushed. Still, he waited.

A little while later, she walked out of the back door with something over one arm. A blanket? In her other hand were two plastic cups.

"Let's go," she said as she walked by.

Dumbfounded, he followed her into the woods.

"What'd you get?" he asked when he caught up to her.

"A quilt," she said.

"Why?"

"Unless your telescope has extra places to look through, I think we can only go one at a time. I want somewhere to sit when it's not my turn."

The farther they got from the Mystery Shack the darker it got. The moon had set with the sun and the trees blocked the stars. Dipper pulled the flashlight out of his backpack -- the cellophane crinkled -- and clicked it on. The forest floor lit up in green. It looked eerie, but at least they wouldn't trip over anything.

"Wouldn't that work better if you took that stuff off the end?" asked Wendy.

"It'd work just the same," he said. "It'd be brighter, though. I don't want to ruin our night vision."

"Green light won't do that?"

"It's better than white light," he said.

"Do you believe everything you read on the internet?"

"Hey, these things were written on very reputable websites."

"Yeah, wikis."

"They weren't."

She laughed. He let his frustration settle and laughed, too.

After a few minutes of walking, Dipper said, "Haven't seen much of you this summer."

"Yeah. I've been working."

"With your dad?"

"Sort of. I got a job at the mill last fall."

"Really? Doing what?"

"I got hired for office work: answer phones, file papers. Stuff like that. But they've let me do other things, too. Lately I've been a dispatcher. It's pretty cool."

Dipper had no idea what a dispatcher at a lumber mill would do. They couldn't be like an ambulance dispatcher, could they? Once a truck was loaded, it just drove. Did the drivers need to be told when to come in and get loaded up or did they call in for directions? And he couldn't pull out his phone and look it up. She'd ask what he's doing and he'd tell her and she'd laugh and say he could have asked her and he'd feel stupid for all of it. He could just ask her, he realized.

"Sounds cool," he said, hoping he sounded cool.

"Where are we going?" Wendy asked. "I thought the nearest clearing was that way."

"It is," he said, "but there's this other one I like better."

"Why?"

"You'll see." He smiled and said, "Around midnight, you'll see."

He felt the skepticism roll off of Wendy, but she trusted him enough to let him lead.

"So," he asked, "are you taking any classes at the junior college?"

"Nah," she said. "I took a couple of classes last year, but dropped them."

"Are you going to go back this fall?"

"Nope. I don't think college is for me."

"But you're so smart." He knew that was a stupid thing to say as soon as his mouth opened. Why couldn't he stop?

"Not to say that people who don't go to college aren't smart," he said, sure he had made it worse. "I-- I-- I--" he stuttered.

She laughed, "I know what you mean. Don't worry about it, Dip."

"But why?" he asked.

"More school isn't for everyone, you know."

"Yeah, but--"

"And I'm one of them. At least for now. College'll always be there when I'm ready. It'll be there even if I'm never ready."

Not going to college had never occurred to Dipper before this moment. College was what you did after high school. His mom and dad did it. His aunts and uncles did it. Some right out of high school. Others after the Army or Navy or whatever. Mabel was planning for college. His friends at school were, too. It's just what you're supposed to do! What else was there?

She used her shoulder to bump into him and said, "I know your just lookin' out for me. Want what's best for me. I get it." She bumped him again. "Thanks."

"You’re welcome?" he said as she bumped into him a third time.

Dipper tried very hard not to think of Wendy's future possibly being ruined by not going to school as they walked on. Talking would help distract him, but he was afraid that he'd just end up accidentally insulting her again. He was such a fool. An idiot. A moron. An ass. A dunce. A dolt. And so many more synonyms. Why hadn't she just turned around and headed back to the party? She was such a good friend to put up with someone as horrible as he was.

He gasped with surprise when she asked, "How's your summer been?"

"Uh," he said, trying to get his brain back on course, "it's been okay."

"What've you done?"

"You know, cleaning, cashiering. Soos has even let me give tours of the Shack. I really like taking people down to the lab. Telling them the story of my first summer here and no one believes me but the little kids."

"Ever scare them?"

"Every time, but the kids love it. Sometimes a parent will complain to Melody or Soos about being too scarey, but every little kid who comes up to me wants to know more. Being scared's fun." He paused, then said, "When it's safe."

"Tell me one of the stories you use," she said.

As they walked, he did. She'd heard everything before, been too big a part of that summer not to have, but she seemed to enjoy the way he told it. When he finished she laughed and asked him to tell her another. As he finished the second story, they stepped out of the woods and into a small, grassy clearing.

"Where do you want to set up?" She asked.

"Right in the middle," he said, "where we can see the most sky.”

He plodded through the tall grass, stopped, spun around on his feet, then started walking again, in a slightly different direction. When he stopped again, he took the telescope off his shoulder and extended the legs of the tripod. He took great care placing the tripod's feet on the ground. He wanted the telescope to be a level as possible before he attached his phone.

Wendy dropped the cups she was carrying and a bottle, which he hadn't noticed before, at his feet. He looked up just in time to watch her fling an enormous quilt out in front of her, letting it unfurl onto the grass. Once it settled, she pulled on it to help smooth out any wrinkles and to bring it closer to the telescope.

After he finished setting up the telescope, Dipper plugged his phone's charging cord into the base and his phone into the cord. He turned his phone on and the bright screen glared at him.

"Dammit," he said.

"What's up?"

"Phone's too bright. I just ruined my night vision."

Wendy laughed.

"Yeah. Yeah," he said, flicking through the screens on his phone as he looked for the telescope app.

The app was simple to use. It took a few second to read his location through the phone's GPS. After that he simply chose which stellar object he wanted to look at. Before Wendy tagged along, he planned to look at the globular cluster in Hercules, but he didn't think that a fuzzy patch in the sky was dramatic enough for a non-nerd. He chose Jupiter, instead, then clipped the phone to the telescope's mount.

As the motor whirred and the telescope turned, Dipper took his backpack off and dropped it on the corner of the quilt. He watched as the telescope adjusted its angle to the horizon. It settled and then made some minor movements to line up perfectly.

Dipped leaned in and looked through the eye piece. All he saw was a blurry circle. He fiddled with the focus and the blur became sharp. He gasped then held his breath to make sure he didn't disturb the placement of the telescope. It was beautiful. He saw several orangish red bands cutting across the planet. The bands weren't perfect, though. They were ragged. Signs of the storms whipping through the planet's atmosphere. Jupiter. King of the gods. King of the planets. Around the planet were four bright white points, one to the left and three to the right. The Galilean moons. He let his breath out. The telescope had been worth every penny.

"What'ca lookin' at?" Wendy asked.

"Jupiter," he whispered.

"Tell me what you see."

"I see..." he started to say then looked over at her. He could just make her out, sitting on the quilt and taking a small drink from one of the cups she'd brought with her. "Why don't you come and look? You can tell me."

"I've seen pictures of Jupiter before," she said.

"So have I, but this is as close to a live picture as you can get. This is what Jupiter looked like about 45 minutes ago. Not only are you looking across half a billion miles, but your looking back in time."

"If you put it that way," she said pushing herself up.

She took another drink from her cup then handed it to Dipper. He put the cup near his nose and breathed in. It was some kind of alcohol. It smelled sweet, though. Way sweeter than the beers he and his friends had snuck. Even sweeter than the wine his family had on holidays.

Wendy stepped up to the telescope.

"If it's blurry," he said, "you can adjust it at the bottom of the eye piece."

"Show me," she said.

He stepped up close to her, his body just touching hers. He reached out and his fingers glided their way down her arm and the back of her hand until his tips were close to hers. His touch was light. A chill ran up his spine. He guided the tips of her fingers to the base of the eyepiece. His index finger pushed on hers so she could feel the grooves.

"You use this, here," he said into her ear.

"Thanks," she said, leaning in to look through the telescope.

He stepped back from her, his face warm. What had he just done? Some nerd version of teaching a girl how to swing a bat. What a dork. In one swallow he drank what was in the cup. He coughed a bit as he felt the warmth work its way to his stomach.

Without looking up Wendy said, "That's for sippin' not chuggin'. Now grab the other cup and pour me a new drink. Get one for yourself while you’re at it."

He knelt down on the quilt and worked his way over to where Wendy had sat. There he found the opened bottle and the second cup. He poured a generous amount into both cups. Still on his knees he moved back to the telescope, then sat down.

He took a sip from his cup. This time it went down easier and he could actually taste the sweetness of the drink. It was good. He took another sip.

"Tell me what you see, Wendy."

"I'm looking at Jupiter, right? It has stripes. That's weird." She looked over at Dipper. "Isn't this the one with the big spot? I don't see the spot." She looked into the telescope again.

"Yeah," he said, looking at the sky where the telescope was aimed, "it has the Great Red Spot. A storm that's been raging for at least 200 years. Maybe longer."

"I wish I could see it."

"Me too. I've read that you can see it with this size telescope. It must be on the other side of the planet."

"Is this an average telescope?"

"It's a little bigger than your average amateur astronomer's," Dipper said and laughed to himself. He put his cup up to his lips. It was empty. Weird. "What else to you see?"

"Four stars," she said. "Shouldn't I be seeing tons of stars, not just four?"

"The planet's so bright that it drowns out the stars you would normally see."

"Then why can I see those."

"They're not stars. They’re moons."

"It has four moons?"

"You can only see four," he said. "I think they've found more than 60, so far."

"Damn," she said. "What else can we see?"

He got back onto his knees and set two empty cups on the quilt. He unclipped his phone and turned it on and thumbed through the list.

Mars was low on the horizon, but they could still see it's vivid red sands and stark white poles. Ceres was a blurry brownish spot; it was just too small. Venus and Mercury wouldn't be up until dawn. Uranus and Neptune wouldn’t be up until after 1 AM. Saturn was their last visit around the stellar neighborhood. The rings were crisp and magnificent.

The grass under the quilt felt soft to Dipper as he lay on his back looking up and the stars, Wendy at his side. Together they had finished half the bottle Wendy brought. Dipper was a little light headed and felt great. They talked about nothing important, just comfortable talk. This was easily his favorite birthday, other than the one that celebrated simple survival. It was exactly what he had needed to work himself out of the birthday blues he'd had earlier.

Suddenly, dots of colored light rose out of the grass all around them. They only rose a few feet off the ground before the blues and green and yellows and pinks and all other colors began to drift around in the still night air.

"You're seeing this, too, right?" asked Wendy.

Dipper laughed, "Yeah, I see it. This is why I brought us here."

"Instead of the clearing closer to the Shack?"

"Right."

"Are these fireflies? I've never seen fireflies in Oregon before."

He rolled onto his side to look at her. "They're not fireflies. They're these tiny beetley peopley things that carry even smaller lanterns. Fireflies flash. These lights never go out. They just, sort of, meander around the field."

"Where do they come from?"

"I don't know, yet. Ford and Grunkle Stan are out there in the wide, wide world looking for spots of weird. He thought that the weird in Gravity Falls was over, except for the stuff that's been here for years. This isn't in any of the journals, though. It's new. Mabel calls them pixtles. Which is better than beeries or feetles or beetxies."

"But how?"

"There are soft spots everywhere. You just have to look. You'd be surprised by what I've found at home following up on rumors."

She rolled onto her side to face him. Only a few inches separated them.

"It's amazing," she said. "It's like being up in the sky with stars all around you. It's beautiful."

"You’re beautiful."

"Dipper," she said, like she was talking to a kid, or worse one of her brothers.

Lightly, he ran the back of his fingers across her cheek. She just looked at him. He moved in closer, slid his hand under her hair and onto her neck, gently pulled her toward him and placed his lips on hers. The kiss was soft. She was going to kill him for doing this. He knew it. His lips parted just a little and he felt hers part, too. He leaned harder into the kiss and her mouth opened more. She put her hand on his back and pulled herself closer, eliminating the space between their bodies. His hand slid down into the small of her back. Maybe she wouldn't kill him after all.

Their kiss broke and both panted for air. Dipper looked into her eyes and saw her strength, her tenacity, her tenderness. Everything he'd loved about her since the day they'd met. This was a moment he had imagined hundreds of times and it was better than anything he ever could have imagined. But could he keep this up? He didn't have much practice at the kissing thing and she did. What could he do to make sure that she didn't think of him as a little kid?

She leaned in and kissed him this time. This kiss was harder. There was more passion behind it. Was it romantic to let her take the lead? Show him how? Her tongue flicked across his teeth and he opened. His tongue met hers and they moved around each other. A deep guttural sound rose up in his throat. She must think he's a complete child. He held her tightly and rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. He brought both hands to her cheeks and held them there. Her hands ran up the sides of his body.

Again, they broke their kiss. Dipper's heart beat with more purpose than it had before, but his stomach was full of butterflies. Fight or flight, Dipper. Fight or flight.

Without breaking eye contact, Wendy slid over so that she was straddling one of his legs. He was sure she could feel how hard he was through his shorts. Did he compare to her past? It mattered. He knew it mattered. Lies had been told for centuries to try to make men forget about their penis envy. He took his hands away from her cheeks, placed them on her shoulders, and looked into her dark eyes. Could she see panic in his own? She leaned forward, reached up, and pulled off his hat then kissed him again.

She began to grind her hips into him. It didn't feel as good as he wanted it to. He was at an odd angle in his shorts and the material rubbed in an uncomfortable way. If it went on too long, he'd get raw. He slid his hands down her body to her hips, then around to her backside. He lifted her a little, hoping that shifting her weight would let him move to a more comfortable position. It didn't. She settled all her weight on him again and he lifted her more. His underwear shifted and he felt a pinch. Would it be rude for him to use one of his hands to fish around in his pants for a second? Probably. He lifted her again. The grinding was becoming harder and her kissing more insistent. All the information he'd read to prepare for a moment like this, and there was nothing about something as simple as an underwear pinch. He continued to lift her and help her grind into him.

She broke off the kiss and panted in his ear. He stopped trying to get himself to adjust. At least there was no grinding. He leaned in and planted small kisses on her neck. When he heard her groan he nipped at that spot with his front teeth. He may not know the rules to make himself more comfortable, but he could pay attention to what made her feel good and keep that pressure going. She groaned again and he switched back to kissing before nibbling again.

He moved his hands off her butt and up under her tank top. Her skin felt so warm against his. He lightly yelped as she nipped at his earlobe. He hoped she took it as a good sound. He slid his shaking hands all the way up her back and only encountered her warm flesh.

"Wendy," he groaned into her ear.

She stopped nibbling his ear and pushed off of him. He looked at her. Had she finally come to her senses? Was she leaving? She smiled, then grabbed the bottom of her tank top and lifted. She knocked the pine tree hat off as she pulled the tank top over her head and simply threw it away.

He marveled at her in the slow-moving light of the pixtles. "You're beautiful," he said.

She reached out and took the bottom of his t-shirt in her hands and gave a tug. He bucked up into her and the shirt moved up his back. He looked into her eyes only to have his view cut off as she continued to pull his shirt off. He raised his shoulders and his shirt came over his head and off his arms. She tossed the shirt away from them, placed her hands on his stomach, and started to move her hips again.

He watched her stomach tighten and loosen as she rolled her hips. He raised his eyes and watched her diaphragm expand and contract with each breath. Her breasts moved up and down with the rolling motion. He raised his shaking hands up to the level of her chest and stopped. He wanted to touch her, but as he watched her move, listened to her breathe, he couldn't move his hands forward.

"Dude."

His eyes snapped up to hers and his hands fell to his sides. She slowed her movement.

"It's okay," she smiled. "You can touch me."

He looked down her body again. If it hadn't been for the slight increase and decrease of pressure against him, he wouldn't have been able to tell she was moving at all. He moved his eyes up again and met hers. He lifted his hands again. They still shook with nerves. He looked into her eyes again. He could feel the warmth of her smile radiate from her eyes. She gave the slightest nod.

Dipper moved his hands forward until the tips of his fingers just came in contact with her breasts. He let out a breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding. Slowly and with great care, he ran his fingertips around her breasts and down her stomach to the waist of he pants. He brought his hands up again and again only touched her with the tips of his fingers. This time he ran them down the side of her body. He watched as she shivered and her whole body broke out into goose flesh. He shivered beneath her as he dropped his hands to his sides.

He felt so stupid. His first time to touch an uncovered breast and he couldn't even bring himself to... He was so... Such a... What does she... Why would... Who could... Would anyone...

Shaking off all his thoughts, he sat up and wrapped his arms around Wendy's body. He felt the warmth of her pressing into his chest. He didn't kiss her, though. He simply rested his cheek against hers.

"I'm sorry," he said, feeling the last syllable try to catch in his throat.

"About what?"

"Everything," he said.

She pushed him away from her and he fell back onto the blanket. Here's where it would end. Not just what they were doing, but everything. She'd been his best friend for four years and soon there'd be nothing left. Only the memories of the past and dreams of a future that would no longer exist. He started to raise himself, but Wendy put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down again.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Dipper. Nothing."

"Yeah, but--"

"No 'buts, ‘" she said, poking him in the chest.

"Yeah, bu--"

"NO!" she said. "This isn't a TV show or a movie or a book."

"I-I never thought that it was."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a lopsided grin then said, "You're the only person I know who looks for things like this" -- she gestured at the pixtles -- "to find the amazing and remarkable and weird in the world and then expects to be exactly like everyone else!"

"I never said I was like everyone else."

"I know that. What I'm saying is that not everyone is like those guys on TV in movies. Not everyone is always ready just because they've got hair on their balls."

Dipper turned his head so he didn't have to look at Wendy and said, "But I want... Is this even what you want?"

She took a hand off one shoulder, placed it on his cheek, and turned him to face her again. "Want is not always ready. And I do want this." She leaned down and kissed him. His arms were too full of lead to lift.

"I have an idea," she said after breaking the kiss. She rolled off of him and started to wiggle. "Get those shorts off," she said.

"What?"

"Trust me. Take them off."

He kicked off his sneakers then reached down and unbuttoned his cargo shorts. Before unzipping, he felt the pockets to make sure none of the contents had fallen out onto the blanket. He took a moment to adjust himself, before pushing his shorts down. The body was a weird place. Emotions and biological reactions didn't always match. Down went the shorts. He grabbed them with his toe, handed it up, folded the shorts, and placed them as far away as he could reach.

The pixtles were so thick that he could barely see the stars in the sky. He thought about how far away those stars were and how tiny he and his lifetime were, but how huge this one night became the moment Wendy caught him sneaking away from the party. So big. So small. How could something be both at once?

"Look at me," Wendy said, her voice hushed.

He turned his head. She stood over him. Pixtles swirled away from her. He couldn't look anywhere except her face. Anywhere else and he didn't know what he would do.

"Roll onto your side, this way," she said, kneeling down.

He rolled. She turned so she faced away from him. She lay down on her side, then scooted her body into his. A blush, hot as fire, spread from his face to his neck to his chest when he felt her butt push into his crotch. She moved his left arm under her and moved his hand so it was placed on her upper chest, near her collarbone. Next she took his right hand, placed it on the side of her body, and slid it down to her hip where he felt the soft cotton of her panties. She then gently moved his hand and placed it just over her belly button. She reached up with her left hand, placed her palm over the back of his hand, and slid her fingers between his. She kept her right hand on the wrist of his right.

"Just hold me," she said.

Somewhere a universe was born and died in the time it took before Dipper relaxed. In that moment of change, his arms went from stiff to melting into Wendy's contours. He pulled her body closer to his. He nuzzled the back of her neck before resting his chin on her shoulder. He took a deep breath through his nose and smelled lingering faux flowers from her shampoo. The rest was all her. Pure Wendy. He breathed in again and breathed out with an "Ah." In front of him, Wendy giggled softly. He smiled and took another breath. She smelled more than good. She smelled right.

He held her tighter and kissed along her shoulder. He noticed that she'd shifted her head, exposing her neck, she used her right hand to move her hair back. He placed more gentle kisses. This time in the nape of her neck.

When he felt a change in her breathing or heard a soft cooing sound, he'd focus on that spot on her. He'd kiss it harder. Suck a little longer. Use his teeth to lightly nip at her skin. He hoped to feel her gasps and held breaths.

Every time she had a small gasp or released a held breath, her backside would push into him and he'd use his right hand to pull her body close to him again. When this happened, his right hand moved higher up her body, until his fingertips were just grazing the underside of her breast. He froze when he realized what he had touched.

Gently, Wendy took his hand and brought it to her lips. Slowly, she kissed the tip of each finger, then moved down a knuckle and kissed across his fingers again. Dipper felt himself thaw and melt into her again as he relaxed, he began nuzzle and kiss her neck and shoulder again.

After she kissed each knuckle of each finger and the palm of his hand, Wendy lifted his hand again, and this time carefully set it on her breast. He stopped kissing her neck, but he didn't freeze. Instead, with some help from Wendy, he felt the softness and warmth she possessed. He felt the nub of her erect nipple push against the palm of his hand and marveled at its hardness compared the suppleness of the majority of the breast. He pushed into her so that he could get his left arm loose and placed his left hand on her other breast.

As his left hand simply cupped, his right hand moved with more purpose. When he squeezed, her backside pressed harder into him. Using his finger and thumb, he traced out her areola in a closing spiral. His finger and thumb ended their trip on either side of her nipple. He felt her hold her breath. He gave a small pinch and she gasped, just a little, and her backside bucked into him. He smiled and let his finger and thumb take the same trip. This time, along with the pinch, came a small tug. The gasp was stronger.

He smiled into her shoulder and began kissing her again. As his left finger and thumb began a journey similar to the one his right had taken, he eased his right hand down her stomach. Working at the mill had been very good to her. When she tensed, he felt the individual muscles. He kept moving his hand down. His fingers came into contact with the waistband of her underwear and followed it around to her hip and then back again. He wanted to lift the elastic and reach down to feel her. He wanted to run his fingers over her flesh, through her hair, and around her most sensitive parts. But he didn't. He couldn't. He was too...

He withdrew his hands and let his head drop to the quilt.

"Dipper, what's going on?" asked Wendy.

"It's my party," he whispered, trying hard to keep his ragged breathing quiet and hold back the tears, "and I'll cry if I want to."

He felt Wendy roll over to face him. He refused to look, though.

The quilt shifted beneath him and then came down over his body.

Wendy hugged him close to her. She kissed his cheeks and forehead.

And she held him.

When he woke, Dipper watched the last of the pixtles drift down into the long grass. The sky in the east had just begun to turn early morning grey. Wendy was beside him, burrowed into the gigantic quilt. His stomach jumped into his throat.

"I've loved you since we first met," he whispered. "First love, puppy love, whatever you want to call it I had it and sometimes it hurt. But over that first summer, it changed. When you get to know someone, it's hard for love to stay the same, but parts were still the same. By the end of that summer I knew that everything I'd felt for you would be with me forever."

"I'm sorry. Last night wasn't supposed to be. I imagined, but never really wanted. You know? And then we started and I couldn't because I think I was scared. I think I'm a coward."

"Not a coward," she said.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "You're not a coward, man."

Dipper looked away from her. He was.

"Someone who can face down ghosts, video game fighters who can throw fireballs, zombies, and the full force of Mabel's imagination isn't a coward. That's like the definition of a hero."

"Maybe," he said, refusing to look at her, "but last night I wanted so much..."

"Dude," she said, turning his face so he had to look at her. "I could feel how you wanted to last night." She smiled. "Believe me, I wanted, too. You know what? Last night was better than just about any other time I was with someone because I've never felt so close to someone. So intimate, you know?"

He blushed, smiled, and said, "I really don't know."

"But you will. I promise. You will."

He sighed. "I guess we should get up so we can get back to the Shack before everyone wakes up."

Wendy rolled over and looked at the sky. "Let's wait until there more light," she said. "I want to get an eyeful of what I was cuddlin' last night." At that moment, her smile should have lit up the morning.

"WHAT!?"

She turned to look at him and said, "You’re the one that said your telescope was" -- she deepened her voice -- "a little bigger than average."

He pulled the quilt up over his head and "AAAAAAAARG!"

Wendy's laughter filled the clearing.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was alluded to in Between Busses and I had to get it out of my head before I could move on the Mabel story that comes after that other story.
> 
> Also, I moved the twin’s birth date up a year, to 2000, to get the night sky right for this story. (Because I’m stupid that way.) There was a nearly full moon on 31 August 2015 and it rose pretty late in the evening. Not a good night for stargazing. While in 2016 the moonset was around 7:30PM, so who cares how big the moon was that night? I guess they could have been looking at the moonscape, but the moon isn’t as romantical, to me, as planets and stars. (I told you. I’m stupid this way.)
> 
> Would anyone have even noticed, or cared, if I hadn’t brought this up myself? Probably not. The problem is, I care. Remember when Neil deGrass Tyson got Cameron to correct the night sky in Titanic? Yeah, that felt good. That felt right because, finally, there was the Big Dipper as Rose began to freeze because you can always see the Big Dipper in the North Atlantic. And I don’t really like Titanic.


End file.
